Review of Lunapaca – Alpaca Wool Diaper Cover

Everyone is trying to do the same thing – make cloth diapering easier, simpler, and better. How we achieve that looks so different, but today we’re going to talk about incredibly easy it is to use this plastic-free diapering system from Lunapaca and why I think this is a cloth diaper for beginners and the cloth-curious parents of the world. 

Early on in my cloth diaper journey, brands would announce new revisions of their products or new additions to their line up and the excitement of innovation would vibrate across the community. Nowadays, that doesn’t happen as much. There are so many little brands just doing their thing; so many variations of the same ol’ thing; and arguably not the same innovation, creative and transformation that I remember there being – but also, maybe I’m just jaded and now feel like I’ve seen it all. 

… well, until recently.

See in the past couple of years, creative people have been working hard to reimagine cloth diapering in new ways, including textiles.

So, when I met Theresa at Lunapaca and learnt about how they discovered the hydrophobic nature of 100% alpaca wool and the roll it could play in the diapering community, my world changed. This is what I live for. Today, we’re going to show off this new patent-pending diaper, and how it could be the best diaper for you. 

Disclosure statement: Lunapaca sent me the diaper for free, but I did cover shipping and duties on this product. I do the best I can to be transparent and honest in my content thinking about you, your needs, and what you need to know about a product. 

About Lunapaca

Theresa will be on the Cloth Diaper Podcast later this summer to share her story of launching a brand, discovering alpaca wool, and working with her sister on this project. But until then, here’s what you need to know about Lunapaca. 

Teralyn is the creative behind this project working with her sister to design and implement a gentle sustainable solution for diapering. Together, they looked to create an intentional product that lived their values of seeking sustainability. We see this ripple through everything in their brand, in their design, and in the after life of their products. 

How is alapaca wool different than typical diapering wool?

For generations, we’ve primarily used sheep’s wool to knit wool diaper covers like the one from Bumby Wool, Humbird Wool, and the many other wool makers around the world. But, when using sheeps wool we have to do a process known as lanolizing. The application of lanolin makes the textile more water resistant and allows us to use wool for a diaper cover. 

Some people are allergic to lanolin – and many of us kind of grumble and grown about the entire process. 

Alpaca wool is different in that the material does not need lanolin. 100% alpaca wool is naturally hydrophobic making it a wash and wear diapering solution that doesn’t require any secondary steps (like sheep’s wool does). 

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This also means alpaca wool is a great natural fiber alternative to those who experience an allergic reaction to lanolin or sheep’s wool. 

There is so much more cool stuff to know about alpaca wool – but I’ll let you explore that rabbit hole on your own. Basically, it’s a hydrophobic textile that can be consistently reused until soiled, and then washed and dry. Alpaca wool is a quick drying textile. 

A few more awesome things about alpaca wool:

• Naturally antibacterial 
• Thermoregulating fibre (don’t worry about getting too hot or cold)
• Incredibly soft, like incredibly soft.
• Hypoallergenic

The Lunapaca Diaper Cover

The Lunapaca diaper cover is a sized diaper cover with a T-shape design in that it has wrap around wings to a front panel that passes through the legs. This wrap-style diaper features two rows of side snaps on both edges, you can secure around the waist as it sees fit for your child.

The diaper is two layers of 100% premium baby alpaca wool. Natural rubber elastics are sewn along the leg edges and back (and can be easily replaced if needed). The diaper is pillowy in that the two layers are not stitched down anywhere but the edges, but in chatting with the designers of this product, that was intentionally done to ensure elastics could be easily replaced if needed.

In the cloth diaper industry, many brands want to go plastic-free but snaps keep them back.  They will often look to create tie systems, use pull-ons, or just use snaps. Lunapaca opted to custom make their own brass snaps to keep the paca cover plastic-free. These custom brass snaps are incredibly beautiful and ensure that this product can be recycled and broken down for the end life. You’ll find three sets of bronze waist snaps on the wings of the diaper that give you that waist adjustment. 

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Sizing – the small I have featured is for babies 6-12lbs and perfect choice for the youngest in your family. If you’re looking to dip your toes into cloth diapering during the early days of newbornhood, or straight from the hospital this size 1 cloth diaper cover is the perfect choice. 

The Medium is estimated for 12-20lbs, and the large will take you to potty training with an estimated fit of 20-35lbs. This large size is known to fit 99% of three year olds and they’ve taken to trying it with all the parents. 

Key Features of the Alpaca Wool Diaper Cover

• Two layers of premium baby alpaca wool
• Brass Snaps
• Cotton thread
• Natural Rubber Elastics
• Available in three sizes
• Assembled in the United States
• Patent Pending function

My Take on the Alpaca Wool Diaper Cover

This is a product that I didn’t really believe until I saw because… there’s no way a fiber can be that naturally hydrophobic, but it is, and alpaca wool just doesn’t want to absorb liquid meaning that pee is forced to go to the place of least resistance – the absorbent material inside your diaper, like a flat or fitted diaper. 

The Lunapaca diaper cover is also incredibly soft, like incredibly soft. She said cashmere, and if this is what cashmere feels like, I need cashmere in my life. We often think about wools as being itchy or uncomfortable – that often comes because of synthetic blends. But this is 100% premium baby alpaca wool, and it is the softest thing ever. 

The Lunapaca cover is expensive — but here’s the thing about expensive wool covers, you don’t need dozens… you just need 1, 2 maybe 3 because you can consistently reuse the product during the day until it’s soiled. For many families they may use 1-2 covers alternating for 1-2 weeks before washing. This gives you an exceptionally system to diaper. 

Lunapaca suggests – Three covers is the perfect amount of alpaca to have in your rotation: 2 to rotate throughout the day plus 1 to have for nighttime.

Yes, you read that right. One diaper cover used daily and washed every week or so. 

If you cloth diaper part time, maybe that means you use this cover few times a day and wash once a month. This is a very low maintenance diapering solution. You might pick up a second for rotation, but with wool diapers you can keep your stash incredibly small and be successful.

And washing is as easy as tossing it in a basin full of warm water and conditioning wool soap like soak for about 15 minutes. Rinse it, let it dry and repeat. This lets you focus on other things, like trying to figure out how to sleep with a newborn who doesn’t sleep. 

You can accidently toss this diaper in the wash and have minimal shrinkage. Machine washing is not recommended because of the cotton thread and 10% shrinkage that can occur and thus handwashing provides that longevity. It’s important to note that you don’t have to be crazy gentle with this textile. You can run it under running water to get out the poop or soap.

There is always a downside to a diaper.  No diaper is perfect, we always got to put our thinking cap on and think about well… why would this diaper suck? 

First of all, caregivers are going to freak out because it’s so different, but you got this, you can help show them the simplicity in this product.  But I think this is something that we can work on changing with the right approach and gentleness.

Second, the trim cut of this diaper means it might not work with all fitted diapers and folds. Theresa and many other members of the Lunapaca group have successfully used this diaper with Sloomb Fitted Diapers, GMD Workhorses, and many other WAHM fitted diapers.  Truthfully, I’m skeptical, but I did see photographic evidence sooo maybe it’s just me? But then, I folded on a flat on Mr. Bear and was pleasantly surprised at how well this diaper covered the body giving us plenty of room in both the front and back to support full coverage.

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The Lunapaca team recommends pairing the diaper with a padfolded cotton flat, but you can use it with other systems. Padfolded cotton flats can really suck for poopers – I had a pooper, so I could see myself wanting to use this with a fitted diaper to reduce poop getting on the diaper and requiring me to wash it regularly. This could be a buzz kill – but not everyone has poopers like I do. Some of you just have kids who pee. 

I’ve been told that the alpaca wool cover does dry as quickly as a cotton flat, sometimes washing is a pain. I’ve also heard a rumour that alpaca wool kind smells when you wash it… smells like wet dog, and you know it is animal hair.  But a gently scented Soak will help you adjust to that, and with it’s quick dry that smell experience is short lived to the wash experience.

All In on Alpaca Wool?

The more I learn about alpaca wool and the entire concept behind this product, the more I love to recommend it to cloth curious parents because it can be a simple and easy way to diaper your child with a little less “ah, what am I doing!”

This is a plastic-free diapering solution. It’s luxurious. It’s beautifully built and innovative for our industry and community. The Lunapaca diaper cover is a must-have for new parents, you don’t even need to look at anything else. Pick up one cover, 6 flats, and just cloth diaper during the day.

There’s very little fussing with fit, you just secure a flat, then secure the lunapaca cover, and call it a day. You can wear this trim diaper cover under pants, dresses, sleepers and the like. It’s a great breathable choice for families and a simple modern take on the diaper that will inspire generations of new parents. 

I’m obsessed, and you should definitely check it out and see if it’s a product that would work for your family. No lanolin. No big processes. Just simple laundry for a modern family looking for a simple low waste diapering solution. Visit Lunapaca.com to learn more and purchase yours.

For more real life experiences using this product, come back. I’m gifting this to a friend having a baby this month because I truly believe this is a simple approach to diapering that is a must have for new parents.